Silver Lake Park, Everett

The name of this park is actually Thornton A. Sullivan Park at Silver Lake, but we call it "Silver Lake Park". During the summer of 2011 they hosted "Cinema Under the Stars" where they played movies at dusk for free. Check their website for any updates/info for the upcoming summer.

We visited the park earlier this week on a partly-sunny afternoon during the end of March, 2012. We chose this location on this particular day for it's extra large playground.

It was "warm" by Washington standards but a brisk breeze made it bitterly cold due to the close proximity to the lake.

The kids, with their bright red noses, ran around and played to stay warm while the mommies bundled up!

Lynnwood Recreation Center

We were tired of the cold, rainy weather so we went swimming.... indoors of course! The older kids didn't have school on Friday March, 23rd so we made it a late-night and went to the evening swim session on Thursday at the rec center in Lynnwood. The swim schedule changes every few months so make sure to check times before you go. We had so much fun! Our swim session definitely was not free but it was affordable. A flat-rate family admission is available as my fellow savvy mommy of 4 got her troop in for $15. Following a massive renovation, this is one of the best public swimming spots around and even boasts water slides, a lazy river, children's swim area, hot tub, and a lap pool.

Know before you go:
- ARRIVE EARLY. I cannot stress this enough especially during busy times. The swim sessions fill very quickly and once they are full, they DO NOT let anyone else in (even as people leave). We arrived about 30 minutes prior to our planned session to quite a few other people doing the same. Depending on which swim areas are open for a particular session, they let in 150 or 300 people total.
- life jackets are abundantly available in various sizes and are free of charge. Lifeguards are also on duty.
- children age 6 and under must be accompanied by an adult in the water at all times. I have 2 kids and my friend has 4 so we were reminded of this rule more than once so needless to say, we were confined to the "kiddie pool" most of the time.
-check which areas are open before you go! Believe it or not, during my very first visit, we came during a session when the slides and lazy river were not open.
-ample parking, however, it fills quickly.
-the only source of food for purchase is the vending machines (and they take credit cards!)

Where shall we begin?

We frequent many of the parks in Snohomish county but the weather has been crummy. Now that spring is officially here (according to the calendar) we are ready to get out and have some fun! Here is what I have in mind for this week:

Thursday March 22, 2012- walking trail in Mill Creek
Friday March 23, 2012 (no school for our older kids)- Mukilteo beach? Zoo?

What we call "the walking trail in Mill Creek" is actually named North Creek Trail. Click on the link to see a few pictures and a short description of the trail.

Now this is where we come in.... we LOVE this trail for a few reasons not mentioned on their website:
-great place to feed the ducks
-the trail has an abundant amount of mature trees making it a good place to "get outside" even if it's raining.
-it's free to visit free to park
-dog friendly
-great place to let the kids bring bikes/scooters/etc.
-paved trail with small inclines/declines along with trash cans, picnic tables, and park benches along the trail.

Good to know before you go:
- there are no bathrooms along the trail- at least not along the 1 mile stretch we usually walk. At one end of the trail is McCollum Park and they do have restroom facilities but please check their website for hours and more info. So 'go' before you go!
-dog friendly (on-leash)

Here is a picture from a prior visit:

...... more to follow after tomorrow!

background and details of our mission

Where is the best place to feed the ducks? Go for a hike? Which parks have waterfront access? Where can we swim? How about the amenities? Pack a lunch or buy it there? It's raining, now what can we do?

These are questions that we asked ourselves before every outing with the kids. Then we would spend far too much time online looking for ideas of places to go. Searching nearby city websites for lists of parks, then google mapping addresses, then googling pictures to see if they looked fun or not. Kids love all parks but taking kids aged 1-12, it's nice to know what each park features for each age group. Our goal for this blog is to have all this information and more in one simple spot. 

After losing my job at the end of 2010 I was forcefully thrown into the role of stay-at-home-mom and suddenly living on only one income. I had spent the prior 8 years working a busy retail job that kept me away from my family many -a late nights and holidays while missing far too many milestones. I enrolled in school full time which allows me WAY more time with my kids and husband than when I was working. I decided to make the best of my stay at home time while I train for a nursing career, a process that will take about 3 or 4 years to become an RN. During this time I, and my good friends, are keeping all of our kids as busy as can be by visiting our local parks, lakes, the sound, and having fun with out spending any (or very little) money. The areas we will be visiting will be around the Seattle metropolitan area, starting mainly in Snohomish county, and King county. We will explore parks, trails, lakes, beaches, community events, festivals, and whatever fun things we come across. We will post pics along with, simple but important information such as highlights, hours, addresses, and "tip's to know before you go" and much more! Washington state is beautiful and we are excited to get out and enjoy it- rain or shine! Come along and feel free to share your favorite places with us!